Since then Mary's Southern Pound Cake recipe has become a "go to" recipe for me. I don't even have to look it up in the index. The book will fall open to the page for me. That's how many times I have made this cake! I've wanted to share it with you before, but we gobble it up so fast I haven't been able to get a picture of it before!

You can serve this cake however you like. It's great with a scoop of ice cream ( Truckin' Man's favorite), with a nice berry sauce, or just a simple glaze. There is no wrong way to serve this.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare bundt pan by greasing, then flouring (be sure to get in all the grooves of your pan). Remove any excess flour. Set pan aside.

In medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy. Add sugar, half cup at a time, until mixture is fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture, half cup at time, alternating with milk, on low speed. Start and end with flour. Mix until flour and milk are completely incorporated. Add vanilla and orange extract.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Level top of batter with spatula so that it is smooth. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes then turn cake out to wire rack to cool completely.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Sometimes the most simple side dishes can be your favorite go to dish. And believe me, simple dishes are what I need right now. I am so busy with the garden and taking care of all these veggies, I don't have time to fuss over recipes.

Set your favorite main dish recipe (Mexican Beef) to go in your slow cooker, and thirty minutes before dinner start this Cilantro Lime Rice. Simple and delicious. The cilantro and lime gives this such a fresh flavor, you will think it came from your favorite Mexican restaurant.

Over high heat, bring water, rice, salt and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to boil. Let boil until most of the water is evaporated. When water just skims over the rice, cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes, remove from heat and let set covered for an additional 5 minutes.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Gardening is hard work, and while I would love a break, I am so happy with our efforts. Here we are in mid-August and still out there picking veggies daily. That makes me so happy.

Something fun this year in the garden is that I even heard the hummingbirds buzzing through.

They must be loving all the blossoms.

This whole side of the garden is one big mess of squash family. Zucchini, spaghetti squash, a couple varieties of winter squash, and two different kinds of pumpkin. Oh, and one little watermelon plant lost in the middle. So many vines. Here a vine, there a vine..

Excuse my size comparison of adding my flip flop to this photo, but I was sooooo excited when I saw how big this pumpkin was I just had to add something to the photo. I don't have tiny feet either! So excited. There might be more, but in the mass of vines, this is the only monster one I could find.

Here is our one lil' watermelon. Still happily growing.

Cilantro, still growing. So happy.

One of my biggest joys of the garden this year. Sweet Heat Peppers. They are thriving! Each little compact plant has a minimum of 15 peppers on it. They are just loaded! And, bonus is they are a delicious pepper. More sweet than anything which of course keeps husband happy.

And, here is our Carolina Reaper. Grown from a seed. From a pepper my cousin sent us. We never really expected the plants would grow (only one of three did). We really never expected we would get a pepper. Now, to see if it will grow to maturity. If it does, what will we do? Probably just admire it!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

You are probably flooded with zucchini recipes right now, and here I am adding another one to the list. Sorry about that, but I have to get this one in my archives right now before I lose it again! This is one of my all time favorite muffins, and I hadn't made it in several years due to a zucchini shortage.

But, zucchini is back in abundance this year, so let the muffin baking begin. But, wait. Where's my recipe? Ugh. Gone! Checked all the recipe cards, and found my original recipe, but not my notes on how I had tweaked it to awesomeness. So, I tried the basic recipe, and husband and I just were not impressed. Being the trooper he is, he did work his way through the initial batch for his breakfasts.

Today when he walked in the door, I had this waiting for him, and got my thumbs up back from him. In my opinion, what makes these so good, is the whole wheat flour. It just adds a nuttiness that compliments the zucchini so well.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Pinterest. It can really help out when you need it! I had peaches laying on the counter that were in desperate need of a purpose, or they would end up being a treat for the chickens. What to do.. What to do.... Flipped through a couple cookbooks, and found nothing inspiring. From there, I went to pinterest. I searched anything "peach" I had previously pinned. I was thinking some type of cookie/bar destiny for my peaches. Nope. I found the Whiskey Peach Sauce I had pinned, who knows how long ago. That was our peach destiny. Less than an hour later, we were sampling and loving this creation!

You need to go get some peaches, let them ripen, and make this sauce!! We had to get an extra container of frozen yogurt to have on hand for the weekend, since we will be enjoying this any chance we get. Even if it's just on a spoon while walking past the fridge! I think this would be a great topping for some waffles, and even on some pork chops. But, I can tell you for a fact... It rocks as an ice cream/frozen yogurt topping!